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July 28, 2006|By MICHAEL SRAGOW AND CHRIS KALTENBACH

Capsules by Michael Sragow and Chris Kaltenbach. Full reviews at baltimoresun.com/movies.

A Scanner Darkly, -- Richard Linklater's nightmare drug movie, loses its fizz after a strong series of pops. Instead of a moviemaking vision, it merely has a look: an unsettling, changeable new form of animated live action. And, instead of a lucid, original take on wigged-out junkies and the government that spies on them, it slavishly follows Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name. (M.S.) R 100 minutes B

Army of Shadows, -- Jean-Pierre Melville's masterpiece, goes beyond the tension of French rebels scrambling to preserve a remnant of civic virtue during the Nazi occupation. It's about the true glory and anguish of finding meaning in action: how "living in the moment" should also mean living in history. (M.S.) Unrated 145 minutes A+

Clerks II -- packs few surprises. Chronic slackers Dante and Randal are still working behind a counter. The characters hardly qualify as role models, but they can be blisteringly funny in a to-heck-with-taste way. While the film sometimes stoops to lows the term sophomoric barely describes, it also possesses a sly wisdom and compassion that are easy to admire. (C.M.) R 97 minutes B

Lady in the Water -- is a beautiful sea nymph who yearns to reawaken land folk to the forgotten hopes and wonders of life. Sounds simple - maybe even simple-minded. But if you're not a fan of the convoluted, teasing thrillers of M. Night Shyamalan, trying to get into this movie is like cracking a puzzle whose constructor keeps breaking his own rules. (M.S.) PG-13 110 minutes D+

Little Man -- must set the record for most kicked-in-the-groin jokes in one movie. Starring Marlon Wayans as a pint-sized jewel thief who impersonates an infant to get his loot back, it's a seven-minute idea tastelessly padded-out to 90 minutes. (C.K.) PG-13 90 minutes D+

Monster House -- could be called a coming-of-age tale if coming-of-age meant spinning in place. Apart from its spookhouse thrills, the movie's biggest selling-point is the digital wizardry that transforms the voice actors' physical performances into nuanced cartoons and places them at the center of an animated frolic. (M.S.) PG 91 minutes B

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest -- is everything you feared the first would be: a theme-park spectacle lasting 2 1/2 hours. It doesn't just make you seasick - the action on land is equally overblown, repetitive and clumsy. (M.S.) PG-13 151 minutes D+

Shadowboxer, -- about the humanity of paid assassins Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding Jr., has gloss, pace and picturesque Philadelphia locations. But the screenplay twirls human kinks, traumas and foibles as if they were dishes to be spun on sticks at a circus or carnival sideshow. (M.S.) R 101 minutes C

Superman Returns -- is slavishly reverential and morose - it presents the Man of Steel (Brandon Routh) as a messiah from the pages of The Da Vinci Code.. The movie contains a dozen winning moments, but too much of it plays like a near-death experience. (M.S.) PG-13 154 minutes C+

You, Me and Dupree -- should be just the thing for fans of Owen Wilson's self-absorbed, chronic adolescent with a heart of gold. The rest of the world, however, is going to wonder what all the fuss is about - when the film is not focused on Wilson, it's really not focused at all. Kate Hudson and Matt Dillon are the newlyweds stuck with Wilson's houseguest-from-Hades character. (C.K.) PG-13 108 minutes C